3 Year-Round Window Sill Gardening Ideas For Every Home

For real gardeners, gardening isn’t just a hobby…it’s a passion. And for those who live in less temperate climates, that means a passionless Fall and Winter while the temperatures dip and the ground freezes. But there’s a solution: year-round window sill gardening.

Window sills are often the most underutilized space in a house. They collect dust, dead bugs, and splashes of dirty dishwater, but few homeowners take advantage of this space and turn it into something decorative.

Don’t Neglect Your Window Sill, Accentuate it

Building window sill gardens can brighten up any home and give the green-thumbed homeowner a great outlet, especially during dreary winter months. Here are three great window sill garden ideas perfect for any home:

Cleaning Up the Kitchen Windows

The kitchen window probably has more eyes looking out of it than any other window in the home. Think about the time the average homeowner spends at the sink preparing food or cleaning up dishes. Instead of looking at just chipped paint or dusty window sills, what about a homemade herb garden instead?

Whether in small pots or hangers, herb gardens have the perfect home on a kitchen window sill. The moisture surrounding the sink and the natural light from the kitchen window provide ideal growing conditions for most herb plants. For the gardener/homeowner, the greenery and appealing aromas from the plants provide a pleasant alternative to the odors that can come from kitchen drains and dirty counters.

Picture a Garden by the Bay

Do you have a bay window or a large picture window in your home? This is another great spot for a garden. Most newer houses feature at least one of these windows that provide large amounts of natural light to flood the house. If it’s a bay window, it also provides a good-sized window sill that can be home to a number of plants that crave that sunlight.

For those in cooler Fall/Winter climates, there are many colorful options that will brighten up your window vista, even if it’s gray outside. For those in warmer locales, several varieties of ficus and cactus plants work great indoors.

Matching the Window and the Ground

If you can work outside during the Fall and Winter, this is a great time to coordinate your ground level floral arrangements with something in your windows. If you’ve got larger external window sills, think about some potted annuals that will complement the ground cover underneath. If you don’t have a window sill, you can buy or easily build a decorative window box that offers the same color combinations. Even if it’s cold outside, you can bury your tulip bulbs in a window box so they’ll be ready to bloom come Springtime.

Another outside option is to plant some ivy. With regular maintenance, ivy can offer a seamless transition from the ground cover flora to the home and provide a deep green frame to your windows. There are many flowering varieties of ivy that give extra color when they bloom.

Effortless Decor for Every Window

Fall and Winter don’t have to mean a break from gardening. By utilizing the windowsin your home, you can add life to these dreary months and turn an underused space in your home into a something beautiful.

Before you decide on what type of window to add or update your home, explore our guide to windows and doors, And don’t forget to request a free estimate today to see for yourself how we can help you improve the look of your home.